The Future Is Untold
by caeciliusestinhorto
Summary: What happens to Ezra after series 4? Here's my guess. Probably canon compliant, or at least not wildly breaking canon.
1. Chapter 1

The engine room. Yes. That would be the best place to be now. The purgil had ruined the front of the ship, but the rear should be free of the suffocating sands. Now he was trapped. Alone. Even that bastard Thrawn had escaped, taking the last of the escape pods with him whilst they were still in hyperspace. And now they he was all alone. The purgil had gone back to their...well.. doing purgil-ly things. Whatever that was. And now he was alone.

The vast Imperial ship took hours to navigate through. Perhaps it would have been easier if he wasn't having to constantly open doors manually to squeeze through them. Perhaps it would have been easier if the ship hadn't half buried itself in the sand. Perhaps it would have been easier if the journey to the rear of the ship wasn't quite so uphill. But it was.

Ezra released the door he had been holding open with the Force and it shut behind him. Urgh. This was tiring work. Perhaps if he just had a little rest? Sleep seemed so inviting right now. No. Sleep was the enemy. He had to get somewhere safe. Maybe find some food and drink too. He'd have to try the storage bays for that, but there ought to be some food in the canteen near the engine room. There always was on these Imperial ships. Not far to go now. He must have covered about half the ship maybe? Not far to go now. And with that tired arms pulled Ezra to his feet and he resumed his climb. Not far to go now. Not far…

Surely that would be it? Ezra had lost track of how many doors he had forced open. Certainly more than a hundred. More than a thousand? It seemed like all he could remember was climbing and opening doors, his tired brain refusing to think back further. Would this be the one? Ezra pulled at the door with the Force. It was locked. A little manipulation of the locking mechanism and… yes. He was through. Looking up he saw a vast cavernous space before him. The engine room! Finally he had made it. And no sign of the treacherous sands that had eaten up the front of the ship. Now, where was the canteen? It ought to be over there… It was! Good. Ezra smiled as his brain sighed in relief at the first bit of good news he had had since he had left Lothal behind. Just have a little bit to drink and eat, and then he could sleep.

Shuffling over to the dispensary, Ezra poured himself a small tumbler of water and took a ration pack. The water went down like that and Ezra helped himself to another tumbler. Good. His body began to relax. What was that taste in his mouth? Blood? No. No, that was adrenaline. That must have been what was keeping him going these last few days. A few bites into his ration pack, a wave of exhaustion overtook Ezra. His eyelids flickered, then closed. His head drooped and all that could be heard amongst the deathly silence of the ruined star destroyer was the sounds of deep breathing.

A few hours later Ezra woke with a start, his heart pounding and his eyes wide open. What was that? He could have sworn he had heard something. Was it one last surviving stormtrooper? Ezra reached out with the Force. There was definitely something, no, someone there. Instinctively he reached for his lightsaber, only to find an empty place on his belt. Damn. He had left it with Sabine, hadn't he. Perhaps there was something round here? No. nothing obvious. Ah. That might work. Not well, but it might. A plastic tray. There was something stuck to it. Penne all'arrabbiata? Never mind. A dirty tray would be as effective as a clean one. Even if it was a bit wet. Slowly Ezra crept forward. Something was definitely out there, moving over the engines pretty easily. Every so often it stopped and there was a whirring sound. What was it doing?

Ezra had to know. He moved forward, weight forward on the balls of his feet to keep the noise to a minimum. Then he trod on something. It shattered and the figure that was crawling over the engines disappeared back into the shadows. Shit. That wasn't meant to happen. Never mind. Ezra carried on, heading towards the last location of the silent figure. Ezra looked around in the shadows. There was a darker bit. Was that the mysterious figure? It had to be?

'Excuse me?' Ezra said.

'Ah. You've woken up then, kid.'

'Yeah. You weren't as quiet as you might have been.'

The figure stepped forward. It looked, familiar?

'Father?' Ezra said, somewhat in shock. Whoever it was certainly looked like his dad. Had he somehow escaped from the vision? Had the Temple given him one last gift?

'Don't know who you're calling Dad, Kiddo. It's not me. I think I would have remembered fathering a child.'

'You're not?'

'No. Sorry.'

'I thought that the Temple...'

'The temple? No lad. There's no power in temples to bring back the dead. He is dead, isn't he? Your father I mean.'

'Yeah. For years. Just. You look so much like him. I kinda hoped.'

'I'm sorry Kiddo.'

The figured turned back to the engine hatch behind him.

'Hmm. Nothing else useful in there.'

And with a flick of his wrist the hatch began to close.

'You have the Force?'

'As do you. Even asleep I could feel it pouring off of you. I guess working for the Empire you don't need to hide it?'

'Hide it? And what do you mean working for the Empire?'

'You know. Working for the Empire. There's no way you're a survivor. Not at your age. You're too young. You must have been taught by the Empire.'

'I was taught by Kanan Jarrus. A Jedi knight. Not the Empire.'

Something about the other man seemed to lift as Ezra explained his history. A little sadness perhaps came through when Ezra told of his parents' fate and of Kanan's. But overall he seemed to relax.

'So. A little Padawan. Do you know where you are?'

'In the engine room.'

'Yeah. Beyond that? Do you know which planet this is?'

'No.'

'Then welcome to the arse-end of bloody nowhere. Some people call it Jakku. I call it Hell.'

The man carried his search over the engines. Clearly it had some very specific bits in mind. Curious, Ezra followed.

'You can put down that tray, you know. I'm not going to hurt you. And I doubt it would do you any good anyway. A blaster bolt would go straight through it.'

'Why should I trust you? I know nothing about you.'

'My name's Darys. There you go. You know something about me now.'

'That's not what I meant. I just told you my life story. You've only told me your name.'

'Be patient, Kiddo. I'll tell you more in time. If you stick around, that is.'

'Stick around? Stick where?'

'With me. Something tells me you aren't cut out for survival on Jakku. At least, not without a little help first. So how about it? You want to come with me? Or do you want to set up home in this wreck? I warn you, it'll be calling with scavengers in a couple of hours. Most of them aren't as friendly as me.'

'You're not exactly friendly as is.'

The older man looked long and hard at Ezra, as if he was trying to make up his mind about something. At long last, he spoke.

'True. I've probably been alone too long. Now, are you coming with me? I've got all I need from these engines and it's a long walk back to my place.'

Ezra wasn't sure whether to trust the man or not. The Force was telling him nothing. Not even the faintest glimmer. It was strange, being unable to tell whether the man was telling him the truth or not. But he seemed honest enough. And if he stayed here. Well, there wasn't much for him here. Just a ship full of dead stormtroopers and foul Imperial rations.

'Ok. I'm coming with you.'

The man just smiled.

'Come on then.'

Ezra followed Darys down some sort of access tunnel. It wan't part of the original design. In fact it looked like Darys had hacked his way into the ship. But the edges. The edges were perfectly smooth molten metal. Almost as if…

'Lightsaber?'

'Don't say that word. Nothing about it. The locals don't like force-wielders.'

'So you're a you-know-what?'

'I was. Perhaps I still am. But that's enough on that subject for now. I strongly advise you not to say a word about it until we reach my place. It's safe in there. Out here, you never know who might be around the corner, listening in. Luckily it's still dark, probably going to be a few hours yet until the other scavengers get here.'

Climbing down the shaft didn't take long, now once they had started dropping down it, ten feet at a time. It was simple enough. Drop, stop. Drop again. Soon Ezra's feet landed on the sand outside the ship.

'Sorry about the sand, Lad. It gets everywhere.'

'Any tips?'

'Yeah. Don't come to fucking Jakku.'

'But now I'm here?'

'Nothing really. Try to stay calm. Don't let this planet win. And don't talk. Save your energy for walking. It's four hours walk to the nearest settlement. I hope we can make it most of the way by sun-up.'

'What happens if we don't?'

'This desert becomes seriously unpleasant. The heat kills those who aren't prepared. And you aren't prepared.'

'And you are?'

'Enough for one. I've enough supplies to keep us alive for an hour or so in the heat of the day, but not much longer.'

The desert seemed to go on for ever. In the faint moonlight Ezra could seem nothing on the horizon but more sand dunes. He trudged onwards, ever onwards, following in the footsteps of the mysterious Darys. The sand was pleasantly warm beneath his feet and a gentle wind whipped the sand up around his shins. Looking down, he saw that Darys had no shoes on.

'Should I take my shoes off?'

'No lad. Leave them on. You'll want it when the day comes. The sand gets hot then.'

'But you don't have any.'

'Exactly. I don't have any. And I have gotten used to it. My feet are tough. Just like the people of this planet. Keep yours booted for now. Believe me, sand in your boots gets really irritating after a while.'

The man fell silent again and they kept on walking. He seemed to know where he was going at least. Ezra just followed, a dull ache starting in his limbs. Ahead he saw a sharp shape sticking out of the sands.

'Razor rock. Good. We're making good time, Lad. Only about another hour and we'll make it to Chandra Station. There's shelter there. And drink.'

'Good. It's hard work this walking.'

'I know, Kiddo, I know. You're doing well. One last burst? Not far now. See, over there, on the horizon?'

'That little blip? Looks like another dune.'

'Yeah, but it isn't. That's our way-post. Just you watch it get bigger.'

Ezra did watch, and it didn't get any bigger. Not that he could tell anyway. It did however, get hotter. The winds began to pick up and the sand whipped higher, it was easily at waist-height now. Suddenly Darys stopped, and swung one of his packs of his back.

'Here, time for you to drink something, Lad.' He said, pulling out a pouch from his bag. Ezra did, and drank thirstily.

'What about you?'

'You finish it. I'm okay. And when you've done put this mask on. It'll get sweaty as hell, but it'll keep the sand out of your mouth.'

'And you?'

'I'm taller. Hopefully by the time the sand gets up to my head height we'll be inside a bar getting totally slarmy.'

This time Ezra knew the man was lying. He knew that he was giving his only protection to Ezra. But why? Ezra didn't know, but was determined to walk quickly, so this new-found friend of his wouldn't suffer too much in the heat. Together they walked, mile after mile, the sunlight getting hotter and hotter on their backs. Soon Ezra was glad for the mask, it kept his airways clear, even as he had to screw up his eyes to protect them from the blast of the sand. Stumbling forward with only the Force to guide him, he followed the older man, sensing a quiet pride in his suffering from him. Why? Ezra had no clue. This man was a total enigma to him. But Ezra did know one thing; if he hadn't been there on the star destroyer, Ezra would have died before he'd reached any settlement on this forsaken planet. This man, this Darys, was both a guide and a protector of sorts. He was giving up his own comfort for Ezra. There was no question about that. And Ezra was grateful for it. Darys was stumbling now, and Ezra felt bad about it. All this suffering was caused by him.

They seemed to traipse onwards like this forever, though it could only have been five minutes at most. Then, suddenly the wind died down and the burning heat went away. Ezra opened his eyes. They were standing in some sort of airlock.

'Welcome to Kap's bar, Kid. Now, shake the sand off and give me back my mask.'

Ezra did, and when the sand was mostly off, Darys opened the second door. The first thing that struck Ezra was the damp. It was a cold damp, so welcome now after the long walk in the hot, dry desert.

'Do you drink, Kid?'

'No. Imperial law on Lothal said I was too young.'

'Well you do now. Kap, one Jakku black for my friend, and a triple clear for me.'

'One Jakku black and a triple clear coming up. You look like shit, Darys. Been wandering in the sand unprotected again?'

'You know me.' The older man joked. 'Got to keep communing with nature somehow.'

'Here you go, you fucking nut. One triple clear for you. And a black for the boy. You never told me you had a son.'

'I don't. He's just a kid I found at the crash-site. Hey, don't worry, he's no Imp.'

Kap seemed to relax, and let go of something he was keeping under the bar.

'Two more glasses of black if you please, Kap. And keep 'em coming. I don't want to be able to walk when I head home this evening.'

'One for the lad, one for you?'

'He's not even half way through his first, Kap. Both for me. Oh. And here's a little something. Should be enough to buy all the bloody beer in your drinking-hole.'

'Imperial fuel cell? I should say so. I'll even get you some food too, for that.'

'Great. And for the boy too?'

'Course. Might as well. There's no other fuckers round here yet. Think most of them grabbed their speeders to check out that crash-site of yours.'

'Not surprised. It's a good'un. Should keep the buggers in portions for weeks.'

'You don't seem so keen?'

'You know me. I take what I need. Nothing more, nothing less.'

'And the boy? What do you need him for?'

'That would be telling, Kap. And I am sure a man with your imagination doesn't need telling.'

'Oh-ho! You randy bastard.'

'I've got needs. And he'll be free.'

'Well, anytime you decide he needs to earn his keep, you know where I am.'

'I'll keep that in mind Kap. Now run along and get that food, would you? The usual, twice over. One for me, one for the kid.'

'Sure thing big D.'

Kap left the bar and headed down a tunnel, leaving the two of them alone.

'What was that about me earning my keep?'

'Remember what I said in the tunnel? Well, secrets keep me alive. Now they're keeping you alive too.'

'And your needs?'

'Thanks for the offer, Kid, but you're not my type. How's the booze?'

'Ok. I am feeling a bit light headed though.'

'Perfectly normal. And I'd hurry up and drink the rest of that. I know it tastes bad, but just you wait until it warms up. Then it's bloody awful.'

'Thanks.'

Ezra took a look at his drink before downing it in one go.

'Here, have my second. You need to keep your fluids up.'

'But wouldn't water be better?'

'I wouldn't trust the water in Kap's bar if my life depended on it. Now drink your black. The alcohol should kill of any germs.'

'Shouldn't one of us remain sober?'

'Fuck it. That walk was bad. And I have transport out back. All I have to do is tell the little astromech where to go and we'll get there. All we have to do is hang on.'

A pregnant silence filled the air. In the distance they heard Kap making something in the kitchen. And suddenly Ezra knew. He'd found a friend.


	2. Chapter 2

'Lesh go BP-9. Home.'

Ezra felt the speeder accelerate. His head was a bit woozy. How much had he had to drink? Too much. The night air felt good, but…

'Hey, Darys, I think I'm gonna hurl.'

'Aim over the side. If you ge' any vom in my shpeeder, you're cleaning it.'

Ezra leaned over and his stomach heaved.

'I hope you stop doing that soon kid. You're leaving a nice trail to follow us by.'

'If you hadn't made me drink sho much...' Ezra began, before his words were cut off by another bout of retching.

Soon, exhausted, Ezra fell into an uneasy sleep, the gentle vibration of the engine helping him to drift off. Onwards the speeder rushed, the little droid half-buried in its front ensuring it kept its drunken load safe as it headed back to Darys's home. For hours the speeder ran over the sands. By the time it had stopped the first hints of dawn could be seen looping over the horizon. Groaning, the half-asleep Darys waved his hand and a door opened. Soon the speeder was inside and powered down.

'Urgh. I hate this bit. First rule of drinking, Kid. The harder you play, the harder it hits you in the morning. Come one. Let's get to the mess-hall and get some water down us before the hangover sets in.'

'You're the Boss.'

Heads shouting, they two sat around a table in the mess-hall, drinking glass after glass of water.

'I feel like shit.'

'Yeah, don't worry about that, Lad. I do too. This is just nature's way of telling us that a day at Kap's should not be a regular occurrence.'

'But I didn't ask for a day out. Why am I suffering so much?'

'Because I am a terrible friend, destined to lead you astray. Now shut up. You're making my head hurt.'

'Anywhere I can get some sleep?'

Darys pointed, groaned and collapsed, his head hitting the table and knocking over his glass of water. Ezra merely walked in the direction that Darys had pointed in, leaving his new friend unconscious on the table. He opened a door to reveal a barracks of sorts. Feeling tired, he laid down on the nearest bunk and swiftly fell asleep.

Ezra woke to find someone had draped a blanket over him while he slept. It was warm and soft, and he squirmed around under it, enjoying the feeling. Rubbing his eyes he saw Darys sitting on one of the bunks over on the other side of the room.

'Afternoon sleepy-head.' Darys was grinning so widely that Ezra wondered how his head didn't fall off.

'Urgh.'

'Feeling rough?'

'Not really. Just not awake yet.'

'Glad to hear it. I've got a little tinkering to do with the ship. Take your time waking up. But when you do eventually crawl out of bed, give me a yell over the Ship's intercom and I'll see about fixing us up some dinner.'

'Don't you mean breakfast?'

'The sun's about to set. I definitely mean dinner.'

And with that parting shot Darys stood up and walked away.

Ezra got up, eventually, and began to look around the room he was in. There must be, what, fifteen bunks down either side of the room? What was this place? There was no way that it was meant for just two people; nor just one, Ezra thought, realising that Darys had lived here alone for. How long?He had no idea. There were no signs of anything personal in this room. Not a poster or a pin-up by a bunk, just blank walls and bunks with bare mattresses on them. There was something sad about the room.

Ezra hit the intercom, shouted "Yo" down the line and walked into the mess-hall. There was nothing in here either. No traces of personality. Who was this Darys? And why didn't he show any signs of self? Even Kanan had decorated his room more than this. This went beyond mere Jedi asceticism. This was. Ezra didn't know. A man trying to forget his past? Or obliterate himself maybe? That kind of explained why Darys had seemed so happy getting totally uddered at Kap's.

'Darys?'

'Yeah, Kiddo?'

'How long have you been living here?'

'Here? Must be, what, eighteen years now? Fuck me, I'm getting old. Didn't realise it had been as long as that. Thirty-two.'

'Sorry Darys, you aren't my type.'

'I should hope not! It'd be like kissing a bloody mirror. At least, it would if I shaved.'

'We really do look alike, don't we? You're not some sort of weird future me, are you?'

'No. Nothing like that. I'm just a lone Jedi knight…

I guess you want to know more?'

Ezra noddded.

'Well, let me get dinner from the dispensers and then I'll tell you all about it.'

'Well. I guess you want to know about this ship? She's the Jedthu-2982. Republic heavy transport ship. Plan was to scout out Jakku to see if we could site a republic base here. We crashed and. Well, half the clones died on impact. Of the thirty-odd who were left, the desert finished off all but three. By the time the Great Purge came. Well, even a chump like me could fend of three clones. I've been here ever since, looking for the parts to repair my ship. That's why I was on that star destroyer. Needed some engine parts.'

'So you weren't looking for me then?'

'Not at all. Just coincidence.'

'Or the Will of the Force.'

'You really think so?'

'In my experience, there's no such thing as coincidence. Just the Force. And the Force has clearly wanted me on Jakku until now.'

'But not any longer?'

'It just so happens that the last things I needed to fix this ship were on that Imperial hulk you crashed out of the sky in. So I'd say that the Force has given me permission to move on. I warn you, the hyperdrive on this crate is seriously shoddy. Gonna take us a while to get anywhere.'

'But we can go?'

'Yeah. I think so. I want off this rock and I can't imagine you want to stay here any longer.'

'Damn straight.'

'So. Where next. Lothal?'

'How did you know?'

'It's obvious lad. You haven't even told me your name yet, but you've told me at least a dozen times that you come from Lothal and have spent years trying to free it from the Empire. Mind you, it'll take a good five years for us to get there, assuming that we can find enough fuel on the journey.'

'Are we low on fuel?'

'No. Full tank. But these transports were never meant to travel far without support. It's a purely tactical hyperdrive. We'll have to refuel at least twice before we can reach Lothal.'

'You know that off the top of your head?'

'Nah. I worked it out years ago, when I was upgrading the fuel tanks. Can't make them any bigger without compromising the structural integrity of the ship.'

'Why I you work out the distance to Lothal? I mean, it's hardly a major planet or on a major hyperspace route or anything?'

'Well. Can you blame a guy for wondering how far it is to the place he was born?'

'No. I guess not. Hang on? So you're from Lothal too?'

'Guilty as charged.'

'You might need to brace yourself for a shock. The Empire didn't exactly treat the place well. A lot of the green has gone. Mainly just smoke now.'

'I don't think it will be much of a shock. I don't remember much about it. The Jedi took me shortly after my first birthday. I can just about remember the inside of my parent's home. A creamy floor I used to play on. But that's it.'

'I'm sorry. I. I forget that the older Jedi like you didn't know your parents. Kanan told me, of course, but it never really clicked. It seems so like what the inquisitors do that I don't think of it as a Jedi practice.'

'Inquisitors?'

'Jedi-killers. They take babies back to Mustafar with them.'

'Ah. The holonet sometimes carries news about Mustafar. Not a place I ever want to see myself, thank you very much.'

'Yeah. Don't blame you. It makes Lothal look good.'

'I am sure Lothal looks good. Besides, the amount of time it'll take us to get there, it might well have recovered significantly. I'm not joking when I say it'll take at least five years.'

'Five years? We could get there faster by walking!'

'Hey. I never said this ship was fast. Just durable. She'll get us there. But we do need to get fuel first. You willing to help me there?'

'Anything for a fellow Loth-rat.'

'Attaboy. We'll take off at sunrise. Should be less obvious that way. Which gives us about five hours to get tonnes of sand off the hull. Want to show me how strong you are in the Force, boy?'

'Yeah. Sure. And the name's Ezra by the way. Ezra Bridger.'

'Ezra, eh? Nice name Kid.'

'I told you that so you could use it.'

'Yeah. And I'll use it when you get made a Jedi knight. Until then, you're the Kid.'

'Awwh. Come on. You know that's never gonna happen. Who's left to make me a knight?'

'We'll see. Perhaps we can even find someone to train you up too.'

'You think I need more training?'

'No idea. I've never seen you in action. But you probably do. And you can't be a padawan without a master. And your last one has moved on. In the old days the High Council would have assigned you someone or made you take the tests of knighthood. But those days are past.'

'Would you teach me?'

'Me? Well. I guess I can help a bit. We'll have precious little else to do these next few years. And a bit of saber practice never goes amiss.'

'Cool. It'll be great.'

'Calm down, Kid. It's not happening yet. Besides, priority is getting this ship working and refuelled. It's a long way to Lothal. Charis III is somewhat closer though. And home to an imperial fuel depot. So guess where we're headed.'

'Gotcha. Thanks for the food by the way. Really good.'

'Yeah. The old Republic loved giving out rations that taste good. Anyway. Time's getting on. It'll be moonrise in ten minutes. Time to get the sand off the ship. Gonna join me? Or would you rather explore the ship a bit? By the way. There's a more comfortable sleeping-quarters behind that bulkhead over there. You might prefer it to the clone barracks.'

'You want me to stay inside?'

'I won't be ten minutes doing this on my own. Go on. Make yourself at home. I'll just pop outside. I won't be much time.'


	3. Chapter 3

'Your previous master wasn't much cop at lightsabers, was he?'

'Kanan was great.'

'No he wasn't. Look. Ezra, I know you look up to him, and its clear he has taught you very well about how to be a Jedi, but he has not taught you how to use a lightsaber properly. No.' Darys said, holding up a hand, 'don't argue. I know you are very protective of his memory, but you need to let go of some of what he taught you.'

'Which bits?'

'Footwork.'

'Kanan never really said much about feet.'

'That figures. Footwork is important. You have the arms right for each of the positions, but your feet are all wrong.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well. For a start, your heels are touching the ground.'

'They're part of my feet. Isn't that where they should be?'

'No. You should be on the balls of your feet. And lean forwards a bit. Good. Now, the back foot. Move it so it's perpendicular to your front foot. See. Now get the arms in ready position. There! Now that's ready position.'

'But I feel unbalanced. I was much more stable as I was doing it.'

'I know. But stability is bad. The key to surviving a lightsaber fight is mobility. don't let yourself get hit. That means you need to be able to move nearly instantly. Try it now. Move left. And right. See how easy that was? Now go back to your old way of standing and try to move. See. It's harder, isn't it?'

'Yeah. So you're telling me that all I have to do is lean forward?'

'More or less. The key thing is never to let your heels touch the ground. If you have your heels planted you aren't ready to move.'

'Is it that simple?'

'It usually is. A lot of people concentrate solely on the Force when they teach lightsaber combat. A bit too much if you ask me. Biomechanics is pretty important too. Particularly if you ever get into Form IV. It's much easier to perform all those jumps if you aren't asking the Force to do all the work. Though of course it's valuable for each of the seven forms.'

'Seven forms? Kanan only taught me about six.'

'I'm not surprised. The seventh form is difficult to perform without drawing nearly constantly on the Force. To use it you have to skirt the penumbra of the dark side. Plenty of Jedi have fallen that way over the years. By the time I was knighted the High Council had forbidden it to be taught without seeking the express permission of the Council. And there weren't all that many masters allowed to teach it either. And before you ask, I am not allowed to teach it either, so don't ask me.'

'Do you know it?'

'A little. I was training to be an instructor in lightsaber combat. To do that you have to know all the forms. But I have never used it even in a practice bout. The Council did not grant me permission.'

'So you were good at lightsabers?'

'Yes. I was one of the leading duellists of my generation. A recognised master of forms two and three by the time I was knighted. And I've been working on form five a lot too. Developing it.'

'That's impressive. Are you going to teach me your improvements?'

'I hope to some day. But first of all I want to try and work on them myself. The move isn't finished yet, and every time I try it I end up with a blister on my hand. A big one. When I work out how to do it properly myself, then I'll teach you. Now. I want you to spend some time going over the positions, concentrating on keeping your heels up. Over and over again until it's natural for you. Feel free to use the training room whenever you like. If you find yourself getting bored, try and see how long you can hold a position for. Or how quickly you can change through the positions.'

'Is that it?'

'For today, yes. Though I would recommend spending some time practising. Now, do you have any questions for me before I start my own drills?'

'No. I don't think so.'

'Good lad. Well. If you come up with any I will just be on the other side of the room. Do you mind if I put some music on? I find something with a beat helps me with timing when I don't have a real opponent.'

'I'm here.'

'But you aren't ready yet. You need to work on your exercises.'

Ezra looked crestfallen.

'We'll spar someday, Padawan. And soon, I hope. But first I need to break you of your bad habits.'

Darys strode across the room and pressed a button. Immediately out of some hidden sound system some sort of martial music began to play. It had a strong rhythm and a catchy melody over the top. Then, as Ezra was focussing on his exercises, the knight began his own practice. Ezra tried to block it out at first but in the end he couldn't focus on his own exercises any more; Darys' own training was exuberant. With his robes flashing around him Darys leapt forward and backwards, always staying on his toes, his lightsaber moving to parry and block an imaginary opponent before he leapt forwards again to take the attack against his fictitious foe. So this was why Ezra needed to get his weight forward. The fighting he had done with Kanan seemed positively pedestrian in comparison with this. Now Ezra began to see how good the Jedi order of old was. And maybe, just maybe, why Darys hadn't thought Kanan to be much use with a saber in hand.

No. He wasn't supposed to be getting distracted. Kanan would be embarassed. He was supposed to be focusing on his own footwork. So Ezra resumed, changing positions in time to the music. That kinda helped having that beat there. With Kanan he had found the basics, well, boring, but this was nearer being fun. It wasn't that Kanan was a bad master. No. Kanan was the best master. He was his master, and he always would be. But there might just be something to be learned from Darys.

Ezra began to become lost in his exercises, focussing in on the way his feet moved. The focus felt good. Like he was getting back towards his old self. Like he hadn't really been since Kanan had died. Suddenly, the music stopped. Ezra looked around to figure out the cause and as surprised to see Darys just standing there, watching him go through the motions, a broad smile on his face.

'Well done, Ezra. You've made real progress today. Do you want a quick spar to finish off?'

'I don't think I can compete with you.'

'I would be surprised if you could yet. But you will someday. You have my word on that, Ezra. You are a quick learner. And strong in the Force.'

'Thank you. And what happened to not using my name?'

'You earned my respect. I was expecting an ill-disciplined half-trained padawan. You are much more than that.'

'But I don't have a lightsaber. Just this metal rod.'

'I know. I know. But I have an idea for that too. Once we refuel on Charis III, our next stop will see us finding you a new kyber crystal. I promise you, Ezra. In the mean time, there's plenty of blaster pistols in the armoury.'

'Darys?'

'Yes, Ezra?'

'I was thinking about Kanan. And about the code. He told me Jedi aren't supposed to from attachments. Does that mean I am a bad Jedi because I still miss him?'

'No. The attachment thing is not strictly part of the code. It's more… intepretation. As provided by the High Council, so you will appreciate it's not entirely bad advice. But still, you can feel somewhat attached to people and things. The important thing is being able to let go. Being able to accept loss. Feeling sad at the loss of a friend. Or family, well, that's only natural. And for some people it's unbearable. They get pushed over the edge by it, they start blaming anything and everything for their loved one's death. That is the path to the dark side. Others are more capable of forming attachments but keeping themselves in the light of the Force.'

'So the fact that Kanan and Hera were romantically engaged didn't make him a bad Jedi?'

'No. From what you have told me about him I suspect she helped make him a much better Jedi. He was able to let go when the time came. He allowed himself to give up his life and her presence in his life when it mattered.'

'Thank you. I do still miss him. I wish he was here with me now, in person, not just as part of the Force. But I think I am ready to start moving on.'

'Don't move on too fast. Let his spirit guide you. He is part of the Force now. If you are lucky, you will be able to sense him from time to time.'

'Do you ever sense anyone in the Force?'

'Not often. But occasionally when I am practising I think I can feel Mace Windu in the room with me.'

'Was he your master?'

'Oh no. I wasn't so illustrious as to be picked by Master Windu. But he always kept an eye out for me. Gave me the odd hint here and there about how to improve my technique. It's been nearly twenty years since I last saw him, but I don't think a day goes by when I don't miss him. And I don't think that makes me less of a Jedi. It's perfectly natural to feel emotions. Sadness, happiness. All of it. I don't think you have to suppress all feeling to be a Jedi. Just control your emotion. Make sure that your head always rules your heart. That's the key.'

The months passed as the ship rattled slowly through hyperspace. Every day Ezra practised in the training room, and before long Darys allowed the two of them to spar properly. It was almost fun. It was definitely hard work. Every time Ezra improved enough to overcome what the other Jedi did, Darys introduced a new move or technique. That they were only sparring with metal rods didn't help either, as Darys seemed to believe that meant that they were free to hit each other as hard as they liked. "It'll help you learn" was all he had to say when Ezra started to complain about the bruising. Though perhaps he had tried to soften the blows a bit more.

'Haha!' Ezra yelled, excited to have gotten his first blow in against the other Jedi.

'Nice one! You're getting better. But don't get cocky. You're nothing on some of the great masters of the old days. There's always someone better than you out there. And that better person is still me.' Darys said, soundly proving the point by beating Ezra in the next ten practice bouts before calling an end to the session.

It was a hard life. Repetitive too. Tinker with the ship, eat, sleep, practice sparring. It almost came as a relief to Ezra when they began to approach Charis III and they had to start working out how to perform the fuel raid. Now that was something that Ezra loved. It reminded him of the days he spent with his adoptive family aboard the Ghost. And somehow, it made him feel more like he and Darys were family. Perhaps it was just because they had the same home planet.

Yawning in bed one evening, Ezra promised himself that he would ask Darys what his surname was. Perhaps they were distant cousins or something. Ezra soon fell asleep, softly snoring through the night.


	4. Chapter 4

'Right Ezra. You remember the plan?'

'Yes.'

'And the key objectives are?'

'Get fuel, get supplies, cause mayhem.'

'Good. And when everything goes belly-up, you remember those three things and adapt to get the job done.'

'Aren't you expecting our plan to work? We spent months working on it!'

'Which is why I don't expect it to work. No plan survives first contact with the enemy. But we both know the layout of the fuel depot and what we need to do. We've done all the training we can. Only thing that could be better is if you had a lightsaber. I'm afraid you'll just have to rely on your reflexes to dodge shots.'

'I know, Darys. Me, Kanan and the rest of the crew used to do it all the time.'

'Kanan the rest of the crew and I.'

'What?'

'Grammar, Ezra, grammar. Effectively you just said "me used to do it all the time". Who do you think you are? Master Yoda?'

'Come on Darys. Focus. The mission.'

'Won't start for another ten minutes. Plenty of time for humour, young man. Now, let's get to the communications suite.'

The communications suite was a mess of a design. In some places the elegant Republic equipment still stood, smoothly integrating with the other panels and with the ship itself. Elsewhere giant blocky equipment stood, clearly salvaged from some other ship, or even home-made, clearly designed for functionality rather than aesthetics.

'And we should be dropping out of hyperspace in 5...4...3...2...1...three-quarters...'

'There we go.'

'Hush now. Time for part 1. This is Shuttle Jedthu-2982 calling Imperial Fuel Depot 57286. Come in Fuel Depot. Over.'

'Shuttle Jedthu, this is Fuel Depot. You are not recognised by our systems. Any attempt to land will be treated as an assault on the Empire and dealt with accordingly.'

'You don't need to do that. The shuttle may land without being attacked. It is just a glitch with the database. Everything is perfectly normal. You will deactivate the anti-ship turrets now.'

'I will deactivate the anti-ship turrets.'

'We have permission to land.'

'You have permission to land.'

'Thank you Fuel Depot. This is Jedthu-2982 over and out.'

With a click the transmission ended.

'Well that seemed to work.'

'Yes. It certainly seemed to. I'll be convinced when we are flying away from here with a belly full of fuel though. Until then. Well, assume that the plan has failed and they are calling our bluff. Now get your arse up to the cockpit and prepare to initiate the landing cycle. I'll be back here in case anything goes wrong.'

'Right-ho.'

The ship groaned as it entered the atmosphere, and began to shake violently. Ezra began to wonder if it was such a surprise that the ship had crashed on Jakku in the first place. It certainly didn't seem all that well put-together. Pushing a button, the landing struts were slowly pushed out of the hull and the shaking intensified. Was there something he had forgotten? It was too early for the retro-rockets. They needed to be fired about. er. Now. As the retro rockets fired the shaking reduced, to be replaced by a gentle thrum that flowed throughout the ship. Then, with a bit of a bump, they landed. Ezra sprang to his feet and ran to the boarding ramp, stopping only to pick up the bandolier of grenades they had prepared earlier and the blaster pistol he had picked out earlier.

'Ready Kid? Good. Now this is where it gets tense. Try and act calm, don't run until you hear the shooting start.'

The ramp lowered and Ezra took some deep breaths. Together they slowly walked down the ramp, half expecting to see a platoon of troopers looking up at them.

The landing platform was empty.

'Right. You know the plan. See you back here in five.'

'Good luck.'

Ezra pealed off to the right as Darys turned left towards the pumping house. Keep calm, Ezra. Keep calm. Just had to walk nonchalantly across the landing pad towards the storehouse over there. Wouldn't need much effort. Looking about, it was quite clear that no-one was coming out of the barracks blocks yet. Good. It would make life so much easier if he didn't have to fight yet.

Using the force to unlock the door, Ezra quickly gained access to the storehouse. Inside was ordered chaos. Everywhere there were neat sacks of crates, but nowhere was there any sign of a system of labelling what was in the crates. Was this some security measure? Or was it just that the quartermaster here was really bad at his job? Ezra didn't know or care. This was the first hiccup in the plan. Right. Time to investigate the crates. What was needed? Food, credits and other useful things. Basically anything, really. Ezra began sorting through the crates, picking out those that looked most interesting.

Across the landing pad, Darys was having slightly more success. He had easily duped the Imperial in charge of the pumping house to let him take a fuel hose out to his ship and by now the fuel tanks were beginning to groan under the weight of the finest fuel the Empire had to offer. With a click, the auto-sealer inside the ship shut off the flow. Good. Now onto part two; mayhem. Where was that blasted boy? How long could it take? Oh well. Ion with the plan. He'd just have to hope that Ezra could pull through in time.

Slowly, Darys walked the dripping fuel hose up towards the hangar for the fuel shuttles. Take those out and this base would be useless for refuelling the larger Imperial vessels. And what better way to blow them up than with the cargo they were designed to transport?

Ezra had gotten six crates together when the shooting started. Damn, they must have come to their sense and realised Darys wasn't an Empire-approved fuel user. Bugger it. This would have to do. Switching on the anti-grav on the train of crates, Ezra began to push. Out of the storehouse door, no worries there. Looking right he could see a load of troopers coming out of the barracks. Well, that was easily dealt with. Ezra picked up a grenade and threw it. Now he'd gotten their attention. Shit. He'd gotten their attention. Bad thinking. Bad thinking. Definitely should have gotten these crates on board before trying to start something. Ezra ran faster and faster, shoving the crates in front of him, and before long he had made the boarding ramp.

Having pushed the crates inside, Ezra went back out to find Darys, pinned down under heavy fire from both the anti-personnel turrets around the fuel tanks and a squad of soldiers. Thanking the force that no-one had noticed him, Ezra threw another two grenades to take out the turrets. Suddenly Darys seemed to have the upper hand; now only under attack from one direction he could fend off the blaster rays with his lightsaber.

'Come on!' Ezra shouted. Darys started to run. He was going to make it. He was going so fast, he'd be at the boarding ramp any second now. As soon as he had a foot on the ramp, Ezra began to raise it. But not soon enough. One last, lucky shot from a trooper hit Darys in the chest and sent him sprawling on the floor.

'NOOOOOOOOOOO!' Ezra screamed, scared at the loss of his friend. At long last the ramp clicked into place, and Ezra ran towards the cockpit. He had to get out of there. Ezra fired the thrusters, their fiery breath launching the Jadthu-2982 into the sky. Now fire the sub-light engines. Just like Hera had taught him. The rickety shuttle began to accelerate. Legs in. And programme the hyperdrive. They were headed to Ilum, weren't they? Yes. The shuttle stopped its shaking. They had left the atmosphere. He had left the atmosphere. Now time to punch it. Activate the hyperdrive and… there they were, the comforting blue of hyperspace filled the cockpit. Now time to see what had happened to Darys.

Below, back on the planet a couple of stormtroopers looked up.

'What a guy.'

'That was a Jedi knight. We're lucky to be alive.'

Behind them, a thin trail of fuel was burning, ignited by the sparks from the thrusters of the shuttle. The fuel burnt and burnt, slowly creeping forwards until it met a large puddle of fuel. There the burning became more intense, until the fires hit the ships. There was an almighty bang.

'Shit.'

'Yeah. I thought we'd had it then. Still, the armour's actually worked for once.'

The fire was spreading down the fuel hose back towards the main tanks. Suddenly the great fuel tanks ruptured in a fireball that made the entire planet shake.

'Karabast!' One of the stormtroopers could be heard to say, just as the wave of fire reached him.


	5. Chapter 5

Darys was exactly where Ezra had left him, his chest still moving, but barely.

'Darys?'

The older man's eyes flickered as he struggled to get Ezra into focus.

'What was that big no about, bro? I just got shot. It's no biggy.'

'But, aren't you going to die? Isn't that a biggy?'

'Just a flesh wound. I'll live. Those blasted Imperials can't shoot straight. Not a patch on the clone troopers of old.'

'I'm really not sure you will, you know. Your breathing isn't all that.'

'Ezra. You have a really lousy bedside manner. You know that, don't you? Anyway, I'll be fine. All I need is some bed-rest. Could you help me to my quarters?'

'But you never let me in there.'

'My leg's been shot. Consider this a special circumstance.'

Ezra helped the Jedi to his feet and slowly helped him towards his quarters. Helping the Jedi onto the bed, Ezra couldn't help but notice his surroundings. They were full of photographs of people. One had a bunch of Jedi in it, another a group of clones. Another

'Darys. Who's in that picture? It looks like...'

'Our parents, Ezra. It's our parents.'

'What?'

'I'll explain more later. For now. For now I need to rest. I'll tell you more later.'

And with that Darys fell into a deep sleep. Ezra was stunned. Confused. What was happening? This man. He was claiming to be his brother all of a sudden? Where did that come from? Surely it couldn't be. His parents had never told him anything about a brother. They would have done. Surely. They had trusted him with everything. This was just weird. It couldn't be. But then again. The man did look like his father. So there was some family resemblance going on. Perhaps it was true? And that protective attitude. The way he had instantly taken Ezra under his wing. Something was going on here. But he could ask questions later.

Argh. What would Kanan have done? He'd have told Ezra to keep calm and focus. But what was there to focus on? The ship didn't need flying, the autopilot was set up right, and it would be months until they needed to do anything with that. Ezra felt a need to do something. Anythin, to keep himself from thinking about what the Jedi had just told him. What could he do? Kanan would have had him meditate. But Ezra didn't think he was ready for that. Not with the blood pumping around him so fast. Why was that happening? Right. Yes. He could do that. Unpack the crates. That would give him time to get himself under control. Then he could. Well. He'd worry about that later.

Now. Time to see what the crates contained. Hmm. Some food in that one. That would need to go to the galley. Some. Oh. That was a lot of rubber rings. What on earth did a base need them for? Oh well. They had them now. Perhaps they could trade them for something. The next crate revealed a full set of imperial cutlery. Hmm. Ezra was losing his knack for pilfering good loot. This stuff sucked. Hmm. Next crate was food again. That's better. Much better. At least that was useful. Next. Argh. Kriff. More fucking junk. Why did they have so much crap in storage? There was no way they needed this many cardboard air fresheners. No way. Just one had lasted the Ghost for four bloody years. And that was competing with the smell of a bloody Lasat. What use did the Empire have for all of these? And why were they all shaped like trees?

The final crate contained bottles full of a clear liquid. Opening one of them Ezra took a sniff. It smelled of alcohol. Good. Darys would probably like that. Thinking back to his injured friend, Ezra thought it was time to make lunch. Soup was what you gave bed-ridden people, right? Grabbing a bottle, Ezra headed to the mess-hall to get a bowl of soup dispensed. Hmm. Chicken and vegetable. Better make that two bowls. It smelled good at least. Perhaps Darys would let Ezra eat with him? Better take two trays to make sure. It would be good to talk to him. Find out whether he was serious about the whole "our parents" thing. He was probably a bit delirious what with having been shot and all.

'Darys.'

'Come in.'

'I've bought you soup. And a bottle of something I found in one of the crates.'

'Let's see. Hmm. Sugar cane brandy by the smell of it. Nice find, Ezra. I've been dying for a drink.'

'Let's hope you don't actually die.'

'Yeah. I keep telling you, I'll be fine. Give me a week and I'll be up and about and showing you who's the better saber fighter.'

'You sound pretty healthy anyway. Your attitude certainly doesn't know you've been shot.'

'Why should it? I'm alive, we're escaping at exceedingly low hyperspeed and you're here to look after me. Given my life on Jakku, I would say things are going pretty damn well right now. Even got nice soup. So, Ezra, what else did you manage to grab in our raid? Any more bottles?'

'Yeah, a whole crate of bottles, two crates of food, mainly vegetables by the look of things.'

'Always good, be nice to have some fresh food for a change. Do you know, I can't remember the last time I tasted a fresh vegetable. Must be years.'

'Other than that it was just junk, a load of air fresheners, more cutlery than we could ever use and a bunch of rubber rings.'

'Well. At least we won't have to do any more washing up of knives and forks.'

'Yeah, I know. There was no system in there, Darys. None.'

'Ah. It's all free. I guess we can't exactly complain that much. Anyway. I sense you want to ask me something.'

'Yeah. That photo of my parents. Why do you have it?'

'Well. It cheers the place up. And its nice to be able to look at family.'

'Yeah, but I guess I am asking are they really your family? I mean. Mum and Dad never told me anything about you. Never even mentioned you. And you're just here with a photo of them.'

'Yeah. It's a long story, I guess. But we've got plenty of time. Want to sit on the bed next to me? Shoes off first though if you are gonna have your legs on the bed.'

'Alright.'

'Well. Do you know how the Jedi used to recruit?'

'Yeah. They'd come along and ask parents to give up their kids so they could be Jedi. That's what Kanan told me.'

'Yeah. That's exactly it. Though admittedly sometimes the Order didn't ask as nicely as it could have. And it was never much cop at taking no for an answer. Either way, at the age of one the Jedi took me. I don't remember much about the family home. My memories proper start at the Temple on Coruscant. Training with Master Yoda. I was good. Really good. Not the strongest in the Force. That was Anakin. He was a bit older than the rest of us, but he was amazing. Best Jedi I ever knew.'

'I knew his Padawan!'

'Did you? What were they like? They were lucky to have been trained by Anakin, I'll tell you that much. He was a good egg. That's for sure. Anyway, I found myself pretty quickly getting chosen to be a Padawan. Master Ernos. She was a female Devaronian. Kinda attractive too. Though obviously as a Jedi that was not something I thought. Not officially anyway. Well. She trained me up good and proper. I was a recognised master of form II and form III by the time I was knighted. I must have been, what, fourteen? There or thereabouts anyway. Either way, the long and the short of it was that I was allowed to write home for the first time. So I did. Told Mum and Dad that I was now a Jedi knight and about to take a mission to Jakku for the Republic. They wrote back. Sent me that photograph too. Have you had a close look at it yet?'

'Not really close.'

'Go on then. Pick it up. Notice anything unusual about Mum in that?'

'No. Hang on. She looks rally fat. But only her belly, not her face. Hang on. She's pregnant!'

'Yeah. That's you in there Ezra. Mum and Dad told me the good news. They'd had a scan and knew there was a little boy on the way. They were so happy. I. I think my leaving had made them quite upset. They were proud, but I never really made them happy. Not like you did Ezra. They were so pleased to have you and to be able to keep you. They only asked me to do one thing for them when they messaged back. Make sure you were never recruited by the Jedi. I don't think they could have coped with the heartbreak of losing you too.'

'Should I not have..?'

'Joined? No. I think they would be happy for you to be a Jedi. They just didn't want to have another baby ripped from their arms. Of course, that didn't matter much either way. A few months after that the Republic ended and the Order fell. You know the rest of my story already.'

'Why didn't you tell me sooner?'

'I wasn't sure how. I'm sorry. I know I should have told you sooner. I didn't want to tell you in case I was wrong.'

'You're not. I can feel it in the Force.'

'Me too. But I wanted it. I've been alone for so long Ezra, I've lost every family I've ever had. First my parents, then the Jedi. Even the Clones. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't feel like this. I should be a good Jedi, and these emotions are not good. But I didn't want to really acknowledge you as family, Ezra, because that would make it hurt more should I lose you. Can you forgive a silly fool?'

'Of course. I err. Well. I hope you'll stick around. You're not Kanan. But I do think you have taught me some useful stuff. And not just about lightsabers either. I. Well. When I first met you I was missing all of the people on the Ghost. These days I just miss Sabine.'

'Who's Sabine? I don't think you mentioned her before?'

'She's. Well, she's wonderful. Mandalorian. Pretty eyes and a really cute nose.'

'Ah. And I guess you miss her in a different way to the rest?'

'Yeah. I used to think she was like a sister. Now. Well. Now I'm wondering. Because I feel a whole lot different about her than I do about you. I guess it's not the Jedi way.'

'Not exactly. But you know what. The Code doesn't actually say you can't. That's more just advice from the High Council. If we ever find her again, I'd let her know. Perhaps she doesn't feel the same. Perhaps she does. But I think you are better off avoiding regrets than you are worrying about whether attachments can lead you to the Dark side. Perhaps they will. But perhaps they won't. And something tells me that the Force itself may have turned against the Council in the end.'

'Thanks Darys.'

'No worries Kiddo. Besides. My little bro and a Mandalorian. I bet you'd make the cutest couple.'

'Awwh. Stop it.'

'Well. Dad's not here to embarrass you about it. So I guess the job of teasing you is mine now, eh?'

Ezra hit Darys with a pillow and the two brothers started to laugh.


	6. Chapter 6

It had taken weeks of flying through hyperspace until Darys' leg was strong enough to support his weight again. It was months until he was back to his full strength with the lightsaber.

'Ezra, want to come to the Comms suite for a moment? I've got it hooked up at at last.'

'Wicked. Be with you in a sec.'

Ezra hurried excitedly through the ship, through the mess-hall, freshly painted in a shade of purple that reminded him of Zeb, and into the comms suite.

'Here we go. Holo sensor-visualiser. Anything we can detect on long range scans, we can see on this.'

'Neat. Does it work?'

'Seems to. I've just put the long range sensor feed through and look what we have.'

'It's a moon.'

'Yeah. And not just any moon. This one's known as a major source of kyber crystals.'

'So we mightn't have to go all the way to Ilum?'

'I hope not Kid. We're still gonna have to head a long way that way to skirt round the inner core; Imperial presence will be too strong there to avoid detection if it's anything like the old Republic military, but if we can get a crystal here we could shave months off our journey.'

'That's great!'

'Yeah. But it only gives us two weeks to plan our infiltration. We may be slow, but it's pretty close. I'll have to plot the diversion tomorrow.'

'What's the planet called?'

'NaJedha. But what we care about is this small moon here. Jedha. Rich source of kyber crystals, maybe second only to Ilum? I don't know for sure, but the Empire will certainly be watching it. Any one who wants to make a lightsaber needs a crystal. And those crystals, well, there aren't that many places in the galaxy to find them.'

'And we can here? Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get planning. Do we know what the Imperial defences are?'

'No. And I don't know much about where to find the crystals on the moon either. I'll need to get researching. You know how to power this down? No? Well., it's pretty simple. One hand here, the other here, you should find two buttons. Press them both at the same time and jobs a good'un.'

'Right. So what do you want me to do?'

'You were practising meditation, weren't you? Might as well head back to that. There's nothing to be done right now. I'll find out where the crystals are, and then we can start planning. Pretty simple really.'

'Yeah. Simple.' Ezra sighed. He longed to be doing something, not just meditating. Darys seemed to think that he needed to, but he wasn't sure why. Kanan never used to meditate this much. And neither did Darys. Sure there was only the one terminal to access the copy of the Jedi database on board the ship but surely he could be. Ah. Right. Yes, that was why he needed to meditate, Ezra realised. He was getting to excited by this. Too nervous. Losing his contact with the Force. Yes. Meditation. Right. Well that was easy enough.

Hours passed like minutes when Ezra was meditating. The Force, The sense of his own body in relation to it, of his own self filling with it. It was bliss. Then sudden;y he felt a shock. Everything turned cold. Like there was a dark-sider nearby. Ezra's eyes snapped open, expecting to see the ship in darkness. It wasn't.

'Ezra?'

'Darys?'

'You felt that too?'

'Yeah. What was it? Are we under attack?'

'No lad. We're not.' Darys seemed sad rather than anxious. 'There's a disturbance in the Force. Like ten thousand lives being snuffed out like an unwanted flame. It. I don't know what caused it. But it was big.'

'Something to do with the kyber crystals?'

'No. This. This is something else. It was the Empire.'

'How do you know?'

'I saw it. I was using the visualiser to look at Jedha. According to the database there's supposed to be a lot of crystals near the holy city there. And. Well, I looked up after I felt that blast and the city wasn't there anymore.'

'What?'

'It was. I don't know. Destroyed. Just a load of rubble and a deep crater was all that was left of it. I'm sorry, Ezra. I think we will have to go to Ilum after all. In the meantime. Stay close. Please.'

'Can we do anything?'

'Nothing. Those people went to join the Force far sooner than they were meant to. That's why you feel so cold. Probably a load of Force-sensitives down there too. '

'Have you ever come across something like this before? I must have seen hundreds of people, Rebels and Imperials die over the years, but I've never felt this before.'

'It depends who dies. Most of the time, the disturbance is so small that only the most powerful Jedi can notice it. The last time I felt anything like this. Well, it was the day of the Great Purge.'

'When all the...'

'Yes, Ezra. Tonight's going to be a bad night for me. I. Can I ask a favour, Ezra? Might seem a bit weird?'

'Yeah?'

'Can you sleep next to me tonight. Back to back, nothing funny. Just. Well. Your presence in the Force is warm. It'd be a comfort to know I'm with someone I can trust.'

'Of course, Darys. I'm here for you. Just like you're there for me.'

Darys gave a weak smile.

'Thanks Kid. I. Sorry. I won't be much fun for a bit. The.. Err. Well. The Purge hit me pretty hard. This is bringing all those memories back again.'

'Would meditating help?'

'In the long run. Yes. But I need to sleep first. Just to get over the initial shock.'


	7. Chapter 7

'Darys. I sensed something. Something calling to me. On that transport there.'

'I see it.'

'I think it's a...'

'Kyber crystal? Yeah. It is. Lots of them. I can feel it too.'

'This is out chance, isn't it?'

'It is. What's the plan?'

'I sneak on, liberate some crystals then sneak off. You stay on board ready to make a getaway, or to provide backup. Shouldn't take more than twenty minutes on and off.'

'Agreed. detonators to cut our way in?'

'Definitely.'

'Right. I will manoeuvre in. You get ready by the airlock. Good luck kid.'

'Thanks, Darys.'

Ezra hurried to the airlock, nervous. This was his opportunity to get a new lightsaber. It was exciting. And in many ways good. It'd been too long since he'd been able to actually use one. Years now. As the airlock extended against the freighter, Ezra dashed forward and planted a series of small charges on the hull.

'Charges planted, back us off.'

'Roger.'

The ship moved away, and Ezra pressed the button. There. A fresh hole in the other ship.

'And in again.'

'Roger. Keep me informed, littl'un.'

'Will do. Out.'

Ezra rushed in. Now, where were those crystals. Yes. They were this way. Ezra followed the singing in the Force. Where were they? Yes. That was them. Behind this door? No. Further down the corridor. Yes. Here they were. This room. Ezra bent down and started to pick the electronic lock.

'Bid D. I've located the target. Just gaining access now.'

The door sprung open to reveal an unwelcome sight.

'And there's an inquisitor here.'

The radio cut off with a crackle and a hiss.

'Right you are, little one. I sense your surprise. It is true, no-one expects the Imperial Inquisition. I am the Second sister. And who are you? Ah. Yes. I remember your face. You're the rebel who carried out the raid on Charis III. Your partner was most interesting to the inquisition.' She said, in graceful tones. 'Most interesting. I imagine he is still on your ship. A Jedi. And you will make excellent bait to capture him.'

'You won't beat him. He's too good for you.'

'We'll see young one. We'll see.'

Darys was already running to the airlock. He had stopped only to programme the computer to keep them level with the freighter. This was clearly a trap. But for him or Ezra? Darys had to hope that he was the intended victim. That way Ezra might still be alive. The alternative. Well. He would deal with that if he had to. Focus on the task at hand. Which way? Left. Down the corridor. And right. And.

'Ah. The Jedi Knight. So glad you could join us.'

She had Ezra on his knees, lightsaber at his throat. Instinctively Darys's hand twitched, eager for his lightsaber. But if he did that then his brother would not survive.

'Slide your lightsaber along the floor to me. Now. No funny business.'

Darys complied.

'Good. It' so much easier to kill you when you are unarmed.'

'I may be unarmed, but the Force is my ally. I have no need to fear.'

'Brave. But foolish.'

Suddenly the Second Sister turned her blade to face Darys. Seeing the chance, Ezra moved back and then jumped high in the air. Reaching with the Force, Darys soon had his lightsaber in his hand.

'Go Ezra. Take your crystals and get back to the ship. I will deal with this dark-sider.'

'I'll see you there. Don't do anything foolish.'

'Hey, Kid, I wouldn't dream of doing anything you'd do.'

Ezra left as the two others circled round each other.

'So, you are both Jedi then?'

'We are.'

'Good. When I have killed you, it will be so easy to take your padawan.'

'Oh. He's not my padawan. We're just travelling together.'

The inquisitor rushed forward, lightsaber raised but Darys easily parried her attack.

'You are too aggressive. That is why the Dark side always loses. Heart over head too often.'

'Remind me what happened to your pathetic Order again?'

'We grew too aggressive. The Force itself punished us.'

'And there was me thinking that my Emperor defeated you. Silly me.'

The inquisitor lunged again. Once again Darys deflected her blow.

'You seem rather reliant on Form Three. Implies you weren't good at duelling. The Order of old would have taught you more if you were any good. This is going to be easy for me.'

'Perhaps I am guilty of favouritism. We all are to some extent. You are too fond of forms four and five. Mindless aggression is of use to neither man nor beast.'

They continued to circle, the inquisitor making the odd, easily-parried lunge.

'You are waiting for reinforcements, I presume. Well. I am not going to give you that luxury. It is true I favour Form Three. I was going to teach it at the Temple after all. But you are mistaken if you believe me incapable of other forms.' Darys said, spreading his legs slightly wider apart and leaning forward.

And with that Darys attacked. The Second Sister was good. Very good. She blocked and parried well, but now the initiative was with him. Darys lunged and feinted, countered and thrusted. Perhaps aggression was bad, but Darys fought with no malice in his heart. The blades whiled and clashed, ever faster as Darys surrendered himself to the Force. Then all of a sudden the fight was won. He had flicked his opponents lightsaber clean out of her hands and in a second movement had cut halfway through the inquisitor's neck. Her body fell as Darys turned. Walking slowly, trying to ignore the faint stitch in his side, he returned to the ship.

The airlock had never felt so good. He was relieved to be out of that ship.

'Ezra? All ready?' He called out over the comms.

'In the cockpit. I've got the crystals. Ready to go?'

'Ready. Where's the next destination?'

'Lothal for now. We might have to divert for fuel though.'

'Acknowledged. Setting the Navicom now. Course set for home.'

'Roger. I'll be up with you in a mo.'


	8. Chapter 8

'Darys!'

' Ezra?'

'It's done. I've finished my sabre.'

'Good lad. What colour is it?'

'Green.'

'Good. Nice colour that. My old Master used to have a green one...'

'You're not focused Darys. What's wrong?'

'We're low on fuel. And we are firmly in unfriendly territory. Most of the systems round here are under direct Imperial control according to the holonet. Well, apart from these ones, but they are controlled by Mandalore. And to be honest, I think the Imperials would probably be more likely to tolerate two Jedi intruding in their space than the Mandalorians.'

'What if I knew some Mandalorians?'

'That does change things. Do you know where your friends are?'

'Krownest. they're Sabine's parents. They control it.'

'So you are staking our supplies on the bet that your girlfriend's parents will want to give us a full tank?'

Ezra blushed deeply.

'She's just a friend, alright?'

'Yeah, yeah. Pull the other one, its got bells on.'

'She's not. She doesn't think about me like that.'

'You sound disappointed. Attachment isn't the Jedi way.'

'It was Kanan's way though. And he was a great Jedi.'

'I would agree with that. Very well. You can let yourself be involved. But are you sure that will make Sabine's parents like us? I mean, enough to persuade their local ruler to let us get fuel?'

'I'm not sure. Perhaps? The Countess is certainly senior enough to get us the fuel. I'm not sure she lies me though.'

'No parent ever likes someone who is coupled with their child. Not until they have proven themselves worthy. And if you are a Mandalorian. Well, family is a big thing for them. They don't tend to welcome just anyone in. particularly not Jedi.'

'Mum and Dad wouldn't have been like that.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah. They always just wanted me to be happy and safe. And then. Well, then the Empire came to Lothal in force.'

'What were they like? I never really knew them. Not well, certainly.'

'They were brave. Selfless. They smiled a lot. They cared for each other, and for me, very deeply. They were loyal to their friends and determined to speak out against what they knew was wrong. Dad. Well, he was always one for little jokes and puns. He loved taking something someone had just said and making a joke out of it. Mum used to get a bit annoyed at that from time to time. Said he wasn't serious enough.'

Ezra paused.

'I miss them. I mean, it wasn't so bad when I was with the crew of the Ghost. Too much was happening to think about the past. I had to be in the present to avoid getting killed or captured. But there were quiet days. I sometimes wonder whether I can't feel them. Like there's a hand on my shoulder offering comfort. But I know they are dead. It's. I miss them.'

'I never knew them well enough to miss them like that Ezra. But it's only natural for you to feel like that. You loved them. And they haven't left you. Not truly. If you open your heart and are at peace, you will find them in the Force. There is no death, there is only the Force.'

'I know. And if you are centred, I am sure you can find them too. I never knew about you before Jakku, but I think they missed you. I'm sure of it. And if you search in the Force, Darys, you will find their presence. I am sure of it.'

'Thank you, Ezra.'

They sat in silence for some time, not wanting to end the moment and in the calm, Ezra felt like e could see his parents, smiling at the two of them. Then, after a long time, the presence vanished back into the Force.

'Darys. I'm going to go and set the course for Krownest. It shouldn't take long.'

'Ok. I'll be in the communications room.'

'See you there.'

The task had taken Ezra mere minutes and before long he had joined Darys in the communications suite.

'Here, Ezra. Listen to this! It's an encrypted channel. There's a battle going on out there somewhere. Some brave fool is broadcasting to the galaxy. It's an old Jedi frequency.'

'... has been lost. But even in defeat the Alliance will continue to fight against the Empire. Many good rebels died today. Killed by the ruthless Galactic Empire. They will claim a great victory. But it was not that. Overwhelming force was directed against a small base on an ice moon. Together, a small band of brave pilots, longing in their heart for freedom, flew light speeders against the newest armoured transporters of the Empire and destroyed over half of them. Even when the Rebel base was eventually penetrated, the bravery of the defending troops enabled many rebels to escape. This is not the end of our struggle. The Empire is strong, but the desire for freedom that lies in all people in the galaxy is stronger still. This is Spectre, signing off. May the Force be with you.'

'Darys! That was Hera!'

'Your Twilek friend?'

'Yeah! Can we message her back?'

'Of course. Now we have a location we can make a discreet broadcast. I'll dial up the ship. Right. There's that. And that one. Now set that… Ezra, I'm opening the channel now. Are you in front of the holocamera?'

'Yes. Hello, is that the Ghost?'

'Who's speaking. Ezra! You're alive!'

'I am! How are the rest of you?'

'Everyone's ok! Zeb is on Lira-san. It's just me, Rex, Chop and Jacen here at the moment.'

'What about Sabine? And who's Jacen?'

'Oh. She's still on Lothal. Defending it against the Empire. Not that they are very active round there these days. And Jacen is my son.'

'Congratulations!. She's not on Krownest then?' Ezra said, disappointed.

'No. Why do you mention it?'

'We're heading there now to get fuel. I was hoping she'd be there. It would make life easier.'

'Fraid not, Kid. But it's good to hear from you again. We're off to. Well, best I don't say where over this. We don't know who is listening. But there's a plan. We are regrouping. How long will it take you to get to Krownest?'

'About a month.'

'A month? What bucket of bolts are you on?'

'Oi!' Dary interjected, 'She's pretty fast for a ship with a home-made hyperdrive!'

'Who's that, Ezra?'

'Oh, Darys. He's giving me a lift. You'd like him. He's a jedi.'

'Hopefully I'll get to meet him sometime. Look Ezra, it was great hearing from you, but I need to go, we're about to drop out of hyperspace and there's no knowing what might be out there.'

'Acknowledged. It was good to see you again, Hera.'

'And you, Ezra. And you. Shall I tell Sabine?'

'No. I'd like to surprise her.' Ezra said, a cheeky grin coming to his mouth.

'Acknowledged. This is Ghost, over and out.'

The image flickered and died as the channel closed.

'That sounds good.'

'Yeah. Everyone is ok for now.'

'We'll get back to Lothal soon, Kid. Then we can pick up your girl and get back to the war.'


	9. Chapter 9

'Urgh. You really don't have to do that, you know!'

'You have landed on this planet without authorisation. I really think I do.'

'Bloody Mandalorians. Ezra. I told you this was a mistake. Owww!'

'Well what do you expect, show some manners, Darys, and maybe you won't get a rifle butt in your face next time.'

'You should listen to your son, he knows what he's talking about.'

'He's not my son. He's my brother.'

'He still knows what he is talking about. So stay silent.'

...

'I was hoping we might be able to see the Countess?'

'What do you want with the Countess, Jedi scum?'

'I want to pay my respects. I'm friends with her daughter.'

'I see. Very well. You will be escorted under guard to the Countess's fortress. We will see what he has to say on the matter.'

'Well, hopefully she's repaired the window in her throne room since last time I was here.'

'It has been repaired since the last time Jedi scum visited us.'

They were frogmarched in single file through the snow for what felt like hours. Occasionally their five guards spoke to each other, or to Ezra, but Darys kept silent, perhaps suspecting that he would be hit if he opened his mouth. It was an unusual situation for Darys. The feeling that it was Ezra, not him, who was in control. Ezra, not him, who was the key to getting what they wanted. In short, Darys was as proud of Ezra as he ever had been.

They marched for hours. Ezra wished they had landed closer, but their fighter escort had forced them down far away from the fortress of the Wrens. The long walk through the snow was tiring. Hmm. He needed to do more exercise. Clearly being cooped up on the Jedthu was no good for strength, even if the regular sparring between Darys and Ezra was becoming much easier. No resistance though. And the Force did most of the work in those jumps. Ezra looked across at Darys. He didn't seem tired at all. How was that possible? Hang on. The Force did most of the work when they were sparring, why couldn't it here. Urggh. No wonder Darys looked like hew as taking a walk in the park. He'd probably been using the Force all along.

Eventually the guards halted.

'You two, halt. We're stopping here for the night. We're in winter now, and night comes quickly. Here, take a shovel each. We need to dig in for the night. The snow will make a good shelter if we let it. First we need to go down, then up a bit and along. Then a nice big chamber for our stuff and some shelves to sleep on. You can't escape. You'd freeze to death if you tried. Even with your mighty Force powers. No amount of mystic woo can save you from thermodynamics.'

You underestimate the power of the Force. Though we have no intention of escaping. Just tell us where to dig.' Darys said.

'Well, you know when to listen to sense at least. I'll radio in our position to headquarters. The Countess will be happy to know you Jedi are co-operating.'

'HQ, this is Isolde'

'Acknowledged, Isolde, we have a beta-three here. Where are you?'

'In the woods, digging in for the night.'

'Acknowledged. WE trust you Isolde, no need to send you co-ordinates until morning.'

'Over and out.'

The radio crackled.

'Shit. Shit. Bugger it all!'

'What is it, Isolde?'

'The Empire are here, Osman.'

'Damn!'

'Can we help with that?' Ezra asked.

'Not a chance. They said it's a beta-three, which means there are between 100 and 500 stormtroopers present. You can't handle all of them. Not even if all clan Wren fights alongside you.'

'Wanna bet?' Darys asked, ' 50 credits says we can wipe out this little Battalion within a day. Pretty standard Jedi work really.'

'These aren't programmed robots, Jedi.' Isolde said, spitting her disgust. 'They are men. Real men, in service to the Empire. Fanatically loyal and crack shots. What hope do you have?'

'A mighty ally, the Force is. Basically, just you watch us. Or more accurately me. Ezra will stay with you five. I presume you can lend him a blaster?'

'I do have a lightsaber Darys.'

'I know, Ezra, but I will be using it. I'll need two for what I have in mind.'

'What is that?'

'You'll see. You'll see. But afterwards, if I survive, I want you to admit I am better with a lightsabre than you.'

'Not a chance.'

Night fell and the seven warriors were below ground. Ezra tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. How could the others sleep when it was so cold? But eventually he drifted off, only to be woken after what felt like no time at all.

'Wake up sleepy, we're moving out. Isolde and Osman are ready. We have a citadel to liberate.'

They jogged through the snow for three hours until eventually the citadel was in sight. It was a magnificent structure, glass and steel standing firmly against the lake and trees.

'It would look even better if those stormtroopers weren't camped outside.' Osman chuntered.

'It would. Which is why I need you to radio in that you have captured us. Say you found us today. Request assistance to bring us to the Countess.'

'The Imps will be listening in, you know.' Osman said.

'Exactly! The jedi plans to use that to lure a group of the stormtroopers here. Split them from each other, take out a small part rather than the whole.'

'Precisely, Isolde. You have a fine tactical mind. Would you care to suggest what happens after we wipe out that patrol though?'

'They'll miss a check-in. Then the alarm will be raised. We'll have the rest of the battalion deployed to hunt us down.'

'We will. And that is when you need to leave it to me and me alone. The first wave we take down together. Then you hide. One of you needs to claim to have escaped and request that the entire Imperial force is sent to you as reinforcements. Then we have them out in the open and exposed. I'll handle the rest.'

'You sure?'

'Well, feel free to shoot a bit after I have them distracted. Are you ready to make the call?'

'I am.'

'Good. May be the Force be with us.'

Ezra was nervous. Not scared; Jedi don't show fear, but he was nervous. What was going to happen? IT had been a long time since he had faced blaster fire. In the end, a patrol of twenty stormtroopers appeared. Ezra drew his sabre a split second behind Darys and ignited it, the first bolt from an imperial blaster narrowly being deflected by the extending blade.

Between the reflected fire from the Jedi. And the fast and accurate shooting of the five Mandalorians, the patrol soon lay dead.

'Quick, move the bodies somewhere out of the way. Everyone grab a second blaster, Ezra, get two and give me your lightsaber. Now, you lot all dig in. I want you invisible. Use the bodies to hide yourselves. I am gonna assume they have a walker or two for personal transport, so make sure you are well hidden. Don't fire until you are sure the enemy are distracted.'

It took twenty minutes of frantic activity until they were well hidden.

Alright. Osman. You call in this time. Say that you have just escaped me, and that you need reinforcements to deal with an escaped Jedi. That will send them running.'

It did. Four AT-ST walkers and about two hundred storm troopers. Ezra saw Darys take a deep breath and ignite both the lightsabers. The stormtroopers started to fire and Darys leapt into the air, the tow blades deflecting bolts away from him and towards the mass of infantry who were firing at him. Suddenly Ezra realised why people spoke of the Jedi as great warriors. This was ludicrous. Darys was jumping around and spinning and the blaster bolts were going right back at those who fired them. Before long half the troopers were dead, and all four walkers were rendered useless, there legs slice through and their cabins lying flat on the ground, their guns buried deep in the soil or pointing straight up to the sky. And still Darys swung his sabers in defence, as Imperials fell around him. Then the Mandalorians opened fire. It was a massacre. Only the Mandadlorians, Ezra and Dary had survived, and Darys was grinning like a lunatic, the joy of the fight upon him.

'Wow.'

'Nice to fight alongside you, Jedi. That was impressive.'

'No more impressive than the ability of your people to trap and kill Jedi. We are hard to kill.'

'Your words are courteous, yet still untrue for that. We were hid whilst you fought.'

'Consider it as payment. We came here for fuel as well as a social call. Doing something for you is the least we can do.'

'Thank you. I will radio in to see if HQ knows of any more imperials.'

There weren't any. A fact that Ezra was rather glad about. Before long, they had come to the great fortress that was the home of the Countess Ursa Wren.

'Leave this to me, Ezra. If you have a history, I should be able to get the fairest deal out of our friends.' Darys whispered.

'I've been here before. They like me.' Ezra hissed back.

'They _liked_ you. Last time you were here, you were with a member of the clan. And who knows how upset she might be with you for disappearing on her. You can try if I fail. But there's no guarantee of a warm welcome for either of us, Ezra.'

'I think there is.'

'Just. Don't get your hopes up. I've known simple missions like this go to complete and utter kark when I was a padawan. Just… Look, I know you can do this. I just. I am really bad at leaving my fate in someone else's hands. Even ones I trust as much as yours.'

Ezra nodded in consent and looked to take a seat outside the throne room.

The guards escorted Darys into the throne room where, presumably, the Countess was holding court. Looking around, Ezra sat on a padded seat by the window. It was almost comfortable, as if he was sitting in someone else's place. Well loved and well worn, but to suit someone else, not him.

'So, Ezra. We meet again.'

Ezra looked around, surprised to hear a voice that wasn't Darys's using his name.

'Alrich! How are you? Still painting?'

'I am. Thank you for asking. Is Sabine with you?'

'Sabine? No. I haven't seen her since. Well. I had to leave Lothal in a hurry.'

'I know. Sabs told us. I had hoped your return meant you'd found her.'

'Not yet. Do you know where she is?'

'On Lothal. Waiting for you.'

'That's where we're going! We're on our way there from Jakku.'

'Jakku? It's been a long time since I had any lessons on galactic cartography, but haven't you come the long way round? And what has taken you so long?'

'We were avoiding the Empire. And I think the hyperdrive in our ship isn't very good. That's why we are here really. We needed fuel and you are the only people near here who might be described as friendly.'

'I see.' Alrich laughed. A jolly belly laugh that seemed to lighten the very air around them. 'Well, I think we can probably find you some. It might not be very high grade.'

'I don't think we need high grade fuel. I'm pretty sure we made the first leg of our journey on fuel looted from an old Confederacy tug. And from what Darys told me, the fuel on that tug was as low quality as you can go without burning actual rocks.'

'Haha! Well my friend, if low grade is all you need, then low grade you shall have. Of course, Ursa will have to make the decision formally, but I am sure she will. You getting back to Lothal is the only thing that will bring our Sabine home. And as much as Ursa doesn't like to admit it, we both miss her.'

'So do I.'

'Yes. That was pretty obvious from the way you looked at her last time you were here. I've seen eyes like that before. I'm pretty sure I looked that way myself when I first met Ursa. I'm not sure I don't still.'

'I.I.'

'Look. If you can't calmly put out a flat denial, it might be worth looking at your feelings. And for what it's worth, for Sabine to stay away from us for years, sitting on a planet for you. Well. I wouldn't have chosen a Lothalian for my daughter, but if she has chosen you. If, mind. I don't know, if she has. Well, I would welcome them to my family with open arms.'

Ezra blushed profusely, as he tried to think of what to say. Sabine's Dad thought. But no, he was just guessing. But still.

'Thank you for the fuel.'

'Thank Ursa, not me. It's not in my gift.'

'Well, thank you anyway. It means a lot.'

'You're welcome Ezra. Now shall we see where your friend has gotten too with my beloved?'


	10. Chapter 10

' _Hope has been a long time coming, my friends. But today, after the death of the Emperor during the battle over Endor, the Empire has fallen. Today, we taste sweet liberty. Today, we are free. It has taken decades but today the Alliance that was born on the same day as the Empire is victorious. But this is no victory of one man, nor of a select few. This is a victory for every being in the Galaxy. Today, the New Republic is born._

 _It may be some time before the New Republic becomes what the Old Republic once was. We still need to liberate many worlds and cities, including the Senate House on Coruscant. But today it begins. For those worlds already free, elect your Senators. For those worlds yet to be freed, we are coming. Hope is here for a swift end to your trials. Be strong and rest assured that we are coming._

 _Finally, to the forces of the Empire that was I say this; join us. Serve the Republic. You are not bad men, though you have long been in service to a bad man. Surrender and you will be treated honourably. Continue to resist, and we will not hesitate in our determination._

 _And at the last I say this._

 _May the Force be with you.'_

'Darys! Did you hear that! There's a New Republic! The Empire as gone!'

'I did. It rather explains what that disturbance was we felt those hours back. A great stain has been lifted from the fabric of the Force.'

'Can we check in on Hera? If there's been a battle I am sure she'll have been there. I want to see if she's safe.'

'Course we can, Kid. Want to check in on your girlfriend at the same time?'

'For the last time, Darys!' Ezra was half shouting out of exasperation, 'she's not my girlfriend. She's. She's just a good friend is all. And no thank-you. I want it to be a surprise.'

'Alright kid, patching through to the Ghost now. Well. That's something. We have a connection. The ship is intact at least.'

' _Beep-Bzkak! Nureek! Rtut! Hnugunga! Squeeee-lunkel!'_

'Hey Chop! It's Ezra! Is Hera about? Could you fetch her?'

' _Nureek!'_

'Thanks!'

There was silence on the line, but Ezra didn't mind. Hera was still alive.

'Ezra! Chopper said you were phoning. Heard the news I take it?'

'Yeah, I'm glad you are OK! How about everyone else?'

'Rex survived too! Zeb's with Kallus on Lira-san. It's been tiring work here. I'm taking Phoenix Squadron on recouperation leave pretty soon. Need a few weeks to sort out logistics. We escaped pretty lightly to tell you the truth, a fair few of the capital ships were wrecked by the Death Star in the battle, including the medical frigate. First aid supplies have been pretty tight, so you can gues whose beautiful ship got sent to collect more.'

'We always were good at supply runs.'mEzra said, chuckling.

'We were, kiddo, we were. Anyway, how are your supplies? Last time we spoke you were running low on fuel.'

'All good.' Darys interrupted, Don't know how he did it, but the Kid managed to get a tonne of grade one rocket fuel out of the Mandalorians. Mind you, the fact his girlfriend is a daughter of the clan in question probably helped.'

'For the last time, Darys, Sabine is _not_ my girlfriend!'

'Oh Ezra, if she isn't now, she soon will be.' The voice of Hera said.

'Wha-what? Not you too Hera?'

'She's been moping on you planet for over four years just because she thinks you want her to defend it. I am fairly sure she loves you, Ezra. Are you going to tell me you don't love her?'

'I do. But...'

'But me no buts, young man. You have it in your power to wound Sabine more than the entire Empire _ever_ could have done. So watch it! If you don't love her, fine. But if you do, and you break her heart out of some sort of misplaced Jedi pride, then so help me I will hunt you down, Ezra Bridger. I will hunt you down, and when I have finished, Chopper will teabag your corpse!'

'By the Force, Hera. That last one is a bit strong, isn't it?' Darys interjected.

'Not at all. I would do the same for Ezra too. Just. Don' t be the emotionless prat your Jedi brother is Ezra. Be like Kanan.'

'OK, Hera. I will. Anyway, it should be another, what? Four weeks until we get to Lothal?'

'Yeah, sounds about right.'

'Yeah, four weeks. Much faster than we expected to be honest. The Countess was amazingly generous with the rocket fuel. Compared to the sludge this thing was designed to burn, well, we are going like bantha-dung off a shovel.'


	11. Chapter 11

They may not have landed at night, but somehow Ezra had managed to fall asleep just before his homecoming. Setting the ship down ever-so-gently, so as not to wake Ezra or disturb the locals was easy. Darys stood, walked to the back of the ship and slipped out of the airlock. Ezra would be able to find him easily enough. He had his commlnk with him after all.

There was a strange presence in the Force. What was it? Darys started to run. It was in that tower. What could it be doing? There! He saw something! What was it? No, who was it? It was someone tall, wearing a big white cloak. Darys ran faster and faster. And before long was urging the lift to go up the shaft ever faster. His lightsaber was drawn and as the doors opened he ignited it. Running round the corner, he saw the shape turn. It was.

'Ahsoka Tano?'

'Weaponsmaster Bridger. You're alive!'

'I could say the same thing about you! It's good to see you again.'

'And you. What brings you to Lothal?'

'Tracking down an old friend. You?'

'I was born here. Thought I would come and see the old place again. Makes a hell of a nice change compared to Jakku.'

'You've been there all this time?'

'Well, mostly. The hyperdrive I banged together out there wasn't the finest. It's taken years to get back here, even without fuel stops.'

'Oh I know what you mean about a change of scenery. I've spent about 8 years or so stuck on Malachor.'

'Ooh. Nasty. No wonder your presence in the Force is so squiffy.'

'Squiffy? My presence is not squiffy.' Ahsoka said adamantly.

'Look, whatever her presence is like, she came here for something.' Said a girl Darys hadn't seen before.

'It's not squiffy! But yes. I came here to see you Sabine. The threat of the Empire is over. The Emperor and Lord Vader are dead. It's time to bring Ezra home.'

'Do you know where he is?'

'No, but we'll find him.'

'I sense you will find him soon.'

'You do? I'm not getting anything?'

'The Force works in mysterious ways.'

'And you are related to Ezra, right? Name of Bridger, home planet Lothal, Jedi. I mean, it's a lot of coincidence otherwise.'

'It certainly would be. Who's ship are you going to find Ezra in?'

'Mine.'

'Yeah, the Ghost is I don't know where. Hera's not due for another week.'

'I can't stay that long. Every day we wait, Ezra may be further away and harder to find.'

Yeah. Right. Thought Darys. Well, if they were that blind, it was time to have some fun with them.

'Where'd you park your ship, Ahsoka?'

'I'll show you, it's right over there. I presume that one down there is yours?'

'It is.'

'It's a pile of junk!'

'Hey. I built that pile of junk myself from scrap parts!'

'What? And you flew it all the way here? You're braver than you look!'

'And a pretty good engineer too. Want to have a look around?'

'I'm not sure we have the time.'

'Ahsoka, you have the time to spend fifteen minutes looking round my ship. Ezra can't get far in fifteen minutes.'

'You say that like you know him!'

'Look, lass. The last I heard from Lothal, Mira Bridger was sporting a rather fetching baby bump. That was before I got stranded on Jakku,. That was before the end of the Clone Wars. I haven't heard any news from here since then.'

'So you don't know where Ezra is?'

The girl Sabine got nothing but silence in reply. From the tone of her voice, she was clearly worried about Ezra. Well, all the better. Darys couldn't wait o hear her reaction when she found Ezra in his bed.

'Well, my ship is just down there. How about I show ou round, we grab some lunch and then youo two can get ready to leave. Sound good?'

'What's for lunch?'

'Clone Wars ration packs. You would not believe how many I still have left. And just as good as the day they were packaged. '

'So still bloody horrible then?'

'Haha. Indeed, Tano. Now, how did you survive? Did Skywalker make it through too?'

'He did and he didn't.' Ahsoka said, her tone suddenly darkening.

'Ah. There's a story there.'

'There is. But this is not the time to tell it. Nor am I the right person to do the telling.'

They descended the tower. The dim mist of the early morning was already beginning to burn off.

'Come on in. Welcome to what has been my home for _far_ too long. The Jedthu-2982.'

'That's not a very romantic name.'

'It's a heavy duty assault shuttle. Names are for proper ships.'

'Feel free to have a look around, Miss Wren. I want to show Ahsoka my training room.'

'I didn't tell you I was a Wren!?' She said, half confused and with a latent question. Darys merely smiled as he turned to show Ahsoka around the ship. When they were alone, she turned.

'Ok. Bridger. What is going on here? You know far too much about Sabine for someone who has been marooned on Jakku all these years.'

'My travelling companion wouldn't shut up. Eh, it's had it's upsides. I've gotten to hear a lot of news.'

'Your travelling companion. Where are they?'

'He's asleep in his cabin. Come on, the holoprojection suite is through here. I can hook up the security camera in his bedroom. I want to see the look on his face when Sabine goes blundering in.'

'You are a wicked man, Darys Bridger.'

'Just a bit of harmless fun. I thought Skywalker trained all the uptight out of you?'

'Given how he ended up, well. Let's just say that a bit more uptight Jedi in him and we wouldn't have had an Empire.'

'That bad?'

'Worse. I'm sorry. I know you trained together as younglings. But he fell. And fell hard.'

'Vader?'

'Yes. How did you know?'

'Just a lucky guess. Now shut up. She's about to go in. I wonder if she'll be able to get him awake faster than I can?'

'Who is he? You haven't. Oh. He's Ezra, isn't he?'

'Just you wait. This is going to be good.' Darys said, smiling.


	12. Chapter 12

'EZRA!'

Through his sleep, he heard the faint sound of a scream.

'Whehhth'

'Ezra!' The voice repeated, this time running up to him and shaking him vigorously by the shoulder. He could distinctly sense Darys giggling in the Force. Well, he had better open his eyes. Darys wouldn't stop shaking him until he did.

Through half shut eyes, he saw something distinctly purple, and much shorter than Darys.

'Wheernnk'

'You really aren't a morning person, are you! Come on, it's nearly time for lunch!'

The voice was familiar somehow. He blinked. And blinked again. It must be a dream.

'Sabine?'

'Ezra!'

He felt strong arms engulf him in a hug. Barely able to move, his arms pinned to his sides at the shoulder, he placed his hands forwards to hug back.

'I've missed you so much!'

'And you! I've been trying to get back here for years. Ever since we left Jakku.'

'And you didn't think to send a message?'

'Darys said it wasn't safe. We've had far too many run-ins with inquisitors on the way here as it is.'

Ezra sat up and rubbed his eyes. Sabine didn't disappear.

'You're really here then?'

'Yup.'

'I'm sorry I've been away so long, Sabine. I've missed you. All of you. Hera, Zeb, even Chopper. But I think I've missed you most of all. Darys is always teasing me about reminiscing about the times we had together more than anything else, anyway.'

'Yeah. I've missed you most too. But then Hera's dropped by regularly and She. Was. In. Regular. Contact!' Sabine said, jabbing his chest with every word she spoke.

'I've said sorry. Lothal wasn't even in range of our broad beam antennae until after we left Krownest anyway. That was just three weeks ago.'

'You were on Krownest?'

'Yeah. We got low on fuel just as we entered Manadlorian space. Something about me using the holoprojector too much or something. So we stopped off at Krownest. Your parents gave us some pretty sweet fuel too. We would still be weeks out if they had given us the Imperial sludge that got us the rest of the way here.'

'So, you saw my parents and none of you let me know you were alive! Oh Ezra Bridger if I wasn't so glad to see your oversized nose and shaggy blue locks, then I swear I would punch your lights out right now! Ahsoka and I were about to leave Lothal to go looking for you. If you had arrived tomorrow we would be gone! And then I'd've missed you! Again!'

'Hera would have helped us, I'm sure. I mean, you weren't going to go without letting her know your frequency, were you? And she's due her in the middle of next week.'

'So you have been in contact with Hera too!'

'Yeah. I remembered the Ghost's frequency, we could lock on and transmit in narrow beam mode.'

'Really? So am I the _only_ person in this Galaxy who you didn't think to let know you were still alive! You could have asked someone to tell me! Hera could've! My parents could've! I've been here, slowly giving up hope of ever seeing the man I. Of ever seeing you again. And all this time you've been alive and just not messaging!'

'I just wanted to give you a nice surprise.'

'Well I've got a surprise all right. I thought you would be a decent enough being to contact me! To let me know you were still alive and not to worry! ARRGHHH! Ezra Bridger, you and I are no longer friends!'

Ezra felt as if he had been kicked in the gut as Sabine stormed out. He got up to chase her. As he rushed out the door, he bumped into Ahsoka.

'Hi Ahsoka. Scuse me. I've got to go!'

'Not now. Give her some breathing room. She'll come round.'

'But.. But she said…'

'I know what she said. She's angry, embarrassed too. You should have called, Ezra.'

'But. But.'

'I know. Now give her some room. I think she needs some time alone. The worst thing you can do now is go barging in on her. Let her come to terms with things in her own way.'

Ahsoka was right. She needed space. She always had needed her own space. Ezra smiled glumly, nodded, and followed Ahsoka. Then, hearing sobs coming from the mess hall, he hung his head in shame.

'We should have messaged, Darys.'

'I told you. It wasn't safe. If we had messaged, the Empire would be all over us by now.'

'The Empire is dead!'

'The Emperor is dead. If you think the Empire is gone, you've got another thing coming. You think all those admirals are going to just surrender because the Emperor has copped it? The war's not over. There's a fleet nearby. Even if Lothal is no longer under Imperial occupation. You think they wouldn't love to crash a reunion like this? Destroy two famous rebels? Or destroy the two Jedi who have caused so much mayhem? No. Even now the shadow of the dark side isn't gone Ezra. The Emperor may be dead, but the evil he created isn't. If we'd messaged, even odds that Lothal would be in ashes as we speak.'

'He is right, Ezra.'

'But seeing Sabine like that.'

'I know. Kid. You must have burned through 5 tonnes of fuel just watching videos of her on the holoprojector. I know what she means to you. And honestly, I suspect she's only this upset because you mean something to her.'

'Yeah. She does. Sabine matters.'

'I know. Now go, Ezra. Sabine needs a shoulder to cry on, and Ahsoka and I are way too tall. Sit next to her in silence, and let her come to you.'

Ezra turned and left. He would put this right. He'd be there for Sabine now. Like he hadn't been for years.


	13. Chapter 13

'Sabine, that day with the purgil. I don't think I ever properly thanked you for providing me with the distraction I neee to get away. I am grateful you know.'

'That doesn't make up for leaving me.'

'I know. Look. I know I haven't really been there for you. Not at all. But you have been there for me. Every day since the day of the purgill unitl now you have been watching over Lothal for me. And I want you to know I appreciate it.'

'Y're we'come' Sabine mumbled.

'Come on Sabs, don't be like that. You know I have been trying to get back to you. Being trapped on a tiny ship with just my brother for company hasn't exactly been a barrel of laughs. I had no idea what had happened to any of you. To Hera, to Zeb, to Chopper. I was worried sick.'

'But not about me?'

'Nah. I knew you were fine. Sabine Wren. Tough Mnadalorian warrior? What could the Empire throw at her that could beat her?'

'Haha. How about a Death Star?'

'Nah. You'd've found a way. You always do. You're pretty amazing really.'

'Yeah. You're right. I am. I should really pull myself together and toughen up. What my mother would say if she saw me like this, crying over a...'

'a what?'

'Don't make me say it, Ezra. Just don't.'

'Okay. I won't! But I still don't know why you are crying. Really. I haven't used my Force powers on you, Sabine. And I can't really tell easily otherwise.'

'A man. I've been crying over a man.'

'You have? Which one? Do you want me to help? Just tell me who has upset you and I'll sort them out for you.'

'Are you really that clueless, Ezra? Really? Can't you guess?' Sabine looked even more upset now, if anything, even if the tears had stopped.

'Like. I know what I'd like the answer to be. But I kinda feel that the wish might be the father of the thought there.'

'Who would you like it to be?'

'Me. I've. Well, I think you know that I've been a bit crazy about you from the moment we met.'

'You can say that again.'

'But, well, I have gotten to know you better. You're still the beautiful woman that 14 year old me was so keen on. But you're more than that. Your my best friend. I don't want to risk losing that.'

'You won't Ezra. You are a really good friend of mine too. And I want to spend a lot of time with you in the future.'

'Great! Me too!' I mean, I want you to spend time with me too! No. Urgghh. Oh. You no what I mean.'

Sabine started to smile intensely, the faintest hint of a laugh glinting on the corner of her mouth.

'Oh, I've missed making you flustered, Ezra.'

'And I've missed you, Sabine.'

Ezra leaned in to give Sabine a proper hug, rather than just having one arm over her shoulder. Their heads met and Ezra moved his head trying to get out of Sabine's way. Then it happened. She leant in and kissed him on the lips. Wow. He hadn't expected that. Sabine had broken off. Was she feeling upset by his lack of reciprocation? Maybe. He pushed his head forwards, kissing Sabine back. Yes. This was better. This was amazing. This was everything he had imagined. She was perfect.

That night, Ezra didn't sleep.


End file.
